Yr 8/9 Art, Design & Technology students at Clapton Girls’ Academy, Hackney, and Brampton Manor Academ, Newham, have been developing a ‘micro’ social intervention in collaboration with local markets and shopkeepers, building a number of cultural exchange points.
Working with artists Namunn Zimmermann, Rike Glaser, Adam Blencowe and Thor ter Kulve, the participants questioned how migration has changed and developed the geography and history of the local environment and what the speculative impact/consequences Brexit might bring to two multicultural areas.
They discovered how mold making and casting techniques are some of the oldest forms of mass manufacturing. They explored rotation molding, injection molding and the wider context of mold making and the relation of the master / original to its copy. They learned about the different properties of materials such as plaster, silicone and jesmonite and how to use them. They also used Computer Assisted Design to lasercut the lettering of the masters, which informed the silicone moulds.
They then created artifacts that demonstrate this social, cultural and aesthetic interaction and have placed them in key points along their local High Streets, linking up to create a trail for audiences to follow.